Photographic-printing apparatus.



Patented'May 20, 1913. k 2 BHEETSfBHEET 1. a A

L. J. MITCHELL.

PHOTOGBAPHIG PRINTING APPARATUS. v APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8, 1911.1,062,294.

'MSI 1 L. J. MI'JICHBLL. l PHOTOGRAPHIG PRINTING ATPABATUS. APPLICATIONFILED JUNE 8, 191'1.

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Patented May 20, 1913.*

fUNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE' Apparatus,

LoUIs J. lislu'rcHELL, 0E EitEsNo, oA'LrEoENrA.

PHo'roenArrrIc-PEINTING AEPAEATUS.

T all Awhom t may concern Be it known that I, LOUIS J. MITCHELL, citizenof the United States,` residing at Fresno, in the county of Fresno andState of California, have invented new and useful Improvements inPhotographic -Printing of which the following is a specilication.

Y A This invention relates to appara-tus for 1-0' the printingandexposure of photographic vfilms and plates.

VThe object of the present `invention is to provide a simple,

ratus wherein may be exposed and printed,

photographic .or other sensitized negatives,

films, or sheets of material; andf'to provide an apparatus which can' beoperated quickly.

and effectively and is adjustable "to accommodate photographicparaphernalia of different sizes and in which the-devices to be' exposedor printed maybe subjected to natural or artificial light rays.

` verse, horizontal section on Other objects of theI invention will bemade manifest in the followingspecifica- 25.

tion.

The invention consists of the parts and the construction and combinationof parts as' hereinafter more fully -described and claimed,havinglreference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is avertical, transverse section through the apparatus. Fig. 2 is'atransthe'line XX, Fig. llooking downward. Fig. 3 is a view ofthe plateholder. Fig. 4 is a view of the lamp frame. Y

The present invention comprehends a device for the exposure ofysensitive photooperators graphic paper, films, or plates,

and includes in its illustrated embodiment a casing 2 of suitablematerial, shape and size, which is provided adjacent to one of its sideswith brackets or devicesg by whichv the casing 2 may be suspendedinjuxtaposition to an opening through casing 2. The casing 2 is providedwith an casing, and a front board 5 forming the front of the casing, andin thisis provided an opening, as 6, of-suitable area to'be disposedwith relation to a window or other opening so that light may -haveaccess tothe interlor of the'casing 2.A

Upon the outer si e of the back 4, which Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed I une 8, 1911.

substantial, portable appaan. opening 13, of

'tive .sheet or film is reproduce which naturallight rays- P `may beadmit-ted into the interior of theboard 4 forming the back of the iPatented May 20,1913. seriaiNp. 632,083. v

may be arranged in a vertical position, is mounted aplate holder 7, ofsuitable material and size, adjustably clamped against the back 4, bymeans ofa screw or other equivalent device 8 passing through a slot 9made in the upper portion of the plate holder 7. The lower verticaledges of the plate holder 7 are bent to form plate receiving flanges 10,of sufficient width to receive between their facing edges a negative,indicated at 11, which is supported by stops 12 adjacent to the loweredge of the plate holder 7. The platehlder is provided withsu cient areato practically expose the entire area of the negative when the latter isplaced inposition against the rear of the plate holder 7 and between"theflanges 10. When pictures or negatives of different sizes are tobeexposed to the light, ldifferent sizes of plate holders may be providedto accompany the apparatus and that particular plate holder 7 which is best Iadapted to f it a given negative may be 1nserted in position uponthe back'4 of the apparatus and clamped in its proper adjusted positionby the screw 8. That portion of thev back 4 of the casing 2 which isadjacent to the normal position of the plate holder 7, is made with anopeningv 14 of approximately the size of the largest plate to be exposedin the casing.- The opening 14 is closable normally by a pair ofcoperative shutters 1 5, vertically pivoted upon spindles 16, which aremounted in bearing flanges 17, attached-to a"frame 18 surrounding theopeningt14 in the back 4. In the normally closed positionthe shutters 15are swung toward andv overlap each other effectively' cutting out thelightrays coming -through the opening '6 of the front of the apparatus,thereby permitting the operator to adjust a sensi- 19' in position` uponthe indicated at 11, whereby a picture d upon the sensitive ymedium 19laced against the negative 11. l

Secured to the -outside of the back 4 of 'the apparatus, and below'theexposure opening 14, is a guide nal recess 21 formed in its sideadjacent to the surface of the back 4. In this recess there is looselymounted a movable stop strip 22, vapproximately equal in length to thelength of the recess height to be approximately even with the lower edgeof the opening 14, and adapted negative,

block 20, having a longitudi- 21, :ind ofl suiiicien v spring 36,releases `the to be pressed forwardly to rest under the lower edge ofthe negative 11, when inserted in the plate holder 7, by expansiblesprings 23 concealed in pockets 24 formed for its reception in thevblock 20. The function of the vstop strip 22 is to support the sheet ofsensitized material or paper 19, when placed by the operator against thenegative 11 inv the plate holder 7, so that the lower edge of the sheet19 to Vbe printed will rest upon the upper horizontal edge of the-stopstrip 22. Having thus inserted a sheet 19 to be printed against thenegative, the operator depresses a pedal 25, so as to pull downwardly anexpansible link 26, here shown in the form of a tightly coiled, helicalspring, to the upper eye 27 of which is connected a cord or othersuitable flexible connection 28, passing over a guide roller 29appropriately mounted on the back of the apparatus. The other end of theflexible connection 28 is then connected at 30 to a lever 31, which ispivoted in bearings 32 fastened upon the surface of the back 4.

The lever 31 is bent across from the ivoted portion supported in thebrackets 32 to form a bail 33 the back 4 of the apparatus. Upon the bail33 rests a pressure pad 34, hinged at 35 and adapted to be swungupwardly about its pivots or hinges 35 when the operator depresses pedal25 and rocks'the lever 31 on its bearings 32, so that the tion of thebail 33, engaging the back of the pad member 34, forces this forwardlyagainst the sensitized paper 19 and holds this firmly against thenegative shown at 11. as the operator depresses the pedal 25 and keepsthe flexible link 26 under sutiicient tension to hold the bail 33, byreason of its lever 31 and the flexible connection 28 under sufficienttension, a firm pressure is maintained o-n the sheet, As the operatorreleases the pedal 25, the lever 31 is released and the pad 34 isquickly about its hinges 35 by a contractile spring or` equivalentdevice 36, connected at one end adjacent to the upper'portion of the pad34, and the other end is connected to a projecting portion 37 of theback plate '4. The pressure pad 34 being swung backwardlyunderthecontractile action ofthe printing paper 19 from pressure against thenegative 11 and if permitted to swing back very 'quickly the pressurepad 34, having fastened on its rear surface a flexible abutment member42, the

latter will trip a pawl 38, hinged at 39, and. pawl suiiiclently o pullrapidly rock the backwardly the stop strip 22, whic is Sconnected to thepawl by a, link 38 passing through an opening 38a formed adjacent to theupper edge of the block 20. The tripping movement of the pawl 38 is attimes so rapid that the card or sheet 19 does notl reaching horizontallyacross .pawl 38 the arm 42 horizontal por-y drawn backward.

channel 40 provided between the plate 20 The channel 40 leads to ay jvided to catch the sheets as they are allowed to fall, as will beexplained later.

The object of preventing the release of certain of the printed sheets 19is to allow the operator to pick the sheet from in position behind theto obtain proofs for determining the length of time of exposure. Toobtain these proof copies he releases the pedal 25 quickly, as

before stated, so that the spring arm 42 on the back of the pressure pad34 will trip the pawl 38 very rapidly.

If the operator releases the pedal gradually, the action of the spring36 connected to the pressure pad 34 is the pad 34 will swing back slowlyand the abut-ment arm 42, fastened to the back of the pad 34, engagesthe projecting pawl 38 and this will be sustained in a partly openpositionby the arm 42, thus allowing the pawl 38 to slowly swing on itspivot 39 and actuate the stop strip 22 to release the printed sheet 19.When the operator inserts the next sensitive sheet 19 into positionbehind the negative and pressesfirmly upon the outwardly tilted,pressure pad 34, which is temporarily interrupted in its movement by theabutment of the arm 42 upon the will yield outwardly and pawl 38, whichyielding action 1s automatic when the pedal 25 is released rapidly andthe spring 36 allowed to exeroise its full contractile tension or pullon the pressure pad 34. After fonce -having obtained a proof anddetermined the time of exposure a given negative requires to producegood prints, he no longer has to release pass over the the pedal 25rapidly but may allow it to riseA slowly, as the contractile spring 36will pull back the pressure pad 34 and through the instrumentality ofthe' pressure pad 34 thus will depress the bail 33. The pawl 38 issustained in its normal vertical position by reasonf of the expansion ofthe spring 23 pressing against the stop strip 22 which is connected tothe pawl 38 by the link 38. When the pressure pad 34 swings backwardlyand the yiel'dable arm -42 engages the pawl 38, t-he latter is rocked,pulling on the link 38 and so moving the stop strip 22 as to permit aprinted strip, resting upon its upper horizontal edge, to slipdownwardly into the receiver 41. When the yield'able arm 42 has swung agiven or limited distance,the pawl 38 becomes released-and is pulledbackwardly into vertical normal position, and the stop strip 22 againassumes a position to receive and support upon its upper edge the nextinserted card or sheet The foregoing portion of this description relatesto the means for holding a negative and pressing a sensitized sheet inposiretarded, so that receiver 41 pronegative 11 when he desires tionagainst the negative so that the sheet can be exposed to light rays.This exposure of the sensitized sheet or strip to light rays `islcontrolled, 'as' hereinbefore stated, by

by depressing the pedal 25 through means of its connections 26 and 28with the lever 31, the shutter members are then automatically opened byreason of suit-able connections? with 4the pedal 25. These connectionscomprise in the present'instance-a yflexible link or cord 43, one end ofwhichis conneted to the lower eye of the spring 26, and then passesupwardly through the spring over vthe guide roller 29 and other guiderollers 44 and is then connected to a crank arm 45 at the lower end ofone of the spindles 16. The other crank arm 45 is con` nected to acontractile spring 46, one end of which is fastened to a stationaryprojection orrpart 47 on the inside of the cover member 4." V I lVhenapull is transmitted to the crank arm 45 through the depression ofthepedal 25`andv the connection 43, the crank armv swings in an arc toopen one shutter 15,at-

the upper end of the supporting spindle 16 of which is formed anothercrank arm 48 swinging in an 'arc similar to that of the lower crank arm45.t The upper crank arm 48 is connected by a transversehorizontal link49 to a crank 50 formed upon the spin-A dle 16 of the other shuttersection; the relation of the cranks 48 and 50 bein'g as shown 1n Fig. 2,that. is, one at substantially right angles to the other, so that thelink 49 will swing the crank 50 and its shutter section 15 to open thelatter.

Q For the purpose of permitting the sensitlzed sheet to betirmly pressedagainst the negative bythe pressure pad 34 before the' shutters 15 areopened, I make the flexible link or cord 43, which operates theshutters, sufficiently longer vthan the cord 28,which Voperates thevpressure pad, to allow the spring 26 to become operative to pull thecord 28 as soon as the pedal' 25 is depressed.

When the pressure pad 34 is topped in its motion by thev face of thenegative, Vthen further pressure on the pedal 25 causes the spring 26.todistend s0 that the lower eye moves away rom'the u per eye 27 and thustakes up the slack in t e cord 43 which is connected to the lower eye ofthe spring.

.Assoonas the cord 28 has become tight and.

the pad 34 ress'ed against thefnegative, then whenA the s ack is takenout of the cord`43 -pulling on the tappet of ciently to be encounteredand depressed by the distension of the spring 26 and the 'cord 43becomes tight, this will pull on the lower'crank 45 of theshutterspindle and swing the crank in an arc of approximately 90 or more and atthe same time shift the horizontal link' 49', mounted on the uppercranks 48 and 50 by their respective shutter spindles 16, to open theother shutter 15.

In operation,

paratus, he may place against the negative and in front of the pad 34, asensitive card or sheet and by depressing the pedal 25 pulls the pad34with firm pressure against the sensitive card so as to hold it inclose contact with the negative. As stated, immediately after the padhas been swung into position against the negative, a further movement ofthe pedal takes the slack out of "the operating cord 43 and the shuttersections 15 are swung open to allow light to have access to the interiorof the casing 2 and 'through the opening'14, thence reaching the"Isensitized cardlor print through the negative. Having determined bytrial'the length of time that each print should be ex posed, theoperatorreleases pressure from the pedal 25 when the shutters have re-, --mainedopen a .certain 'length'.of time,

4and

they are automatically closed.` by theconafter the voperator has ad-A Ajustedl the negative from which prints are to Y be made over the'opening 14 of the ap-l traction of the spring 6 which is dist-ended jwhen'the cord 43 'pulls lon the crank 45.V

The closing of the shutters4 15 takes place at th primaryupward' portionofthe movement of the pedal 25. vAs soon as they are closed the spring36 becomes eHective Vto pull backwardly the pressure pad 34 and permitsthe abutment arm 42 to engage and swing backwardly the pawl 38 this inturn the stop strip 22 trom the top edge of which the printed card orsheet falls- 4 through the channel' 40 into ythe receiver 41.

It is important lin photographic establishments wherevarious numberslofprints of diere'nt negatives are being cdnstantly produced, that theoperatorbe relieved of the burden of keeping a metal tally of the numberof printstfrom each negative. For this purpose I, have shown mounteduponv the back plate 20 a suitable counting device 50,

which projects upwardly suiby the pressure pad 34 when this is swungback fully so that each printl released by the opening of the pressurepad 34 will-fbe counted and registered' uponv the counting v device 50a.vThis' apparatus may be used in natural light or, when necessary, theex-y posures can be made by artificial hght by reason vofthe closing ofa suitable electric circuit 51 at the proper instant, `preferably justbefore the shutters 15 are opened. circuit 51 includes contact members52, one

of which is stationary andthe other being The is moved, the shuttersmoved into circuit closing engagement with the stationary member. Asshown, the stationary member 52 may be mounted upon the back 4 of theapparatus and the movable member mounted upon the pad 34, so t-hat whenthe t-wo members are brought into contact a circuit will be completedthrough wires in the circuit 51 to cause the illumination ofincandescent lights 53 fastened in suitable sockets having connectionsin the circuit 51; the lights being mounted in a detachable frame 54which may be connected to the casing 2 by means of the brackets orfastening devices indicated at 3.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, isv I. A- photographic printing apparatus comprising asuitable casing having a front and a back, each having an opening,shutters pivoted at the sides of theopening and operating inside of thecasing, a foot pedal,`

a link connecting the shuttersfor Ysimultaneously movmg the same, aspring for maintaining the shutters closed, a Hexible, re-

silient device connecting the pedal and one of the shutters whereby,.when the pedal v are opened, a tiltable actuator journaled on thecasing, a medium connecting the actuator and said pedal, anautomatically opening platen pivoted on the back and bearing upon'thetiltable actuator, and a p ever the opening therein against a plate 1nwhich may be held a sensitized sheet, said actuator being effective whenthe pedal is pressed to force the platen up, further moveate holderadjustable upon the backv ment of the lever acting through the flexiblel device to open the shutters.

2. In a photographic print-ing apparatus, the combination of a casinghaving a back with an aperture,l shutters pivoted at the sides of theopening, a link connecting the shutters to operate the same in unison, aspring for automatically closingthe shutters, a pla'te holder on theback and'adjacent to the opening, a collecting box below the aperture, asheet stop at the lower edge of the plate-holder in a recess formed forits reception in the casing, springs projecting the stop forward beneaththe edge of the plate-holder, a conduit extending from the stop to thecollecting box, a tripper con'- nected to the stop for pullingy it backto openthe conduit to allow printed sheets to drop, a platen forpressing sheets on a negative, its retracting spring, a resilient arm onthe platen for engaging the tripper, a tiltable actuator journaled onthe case for pressing 'the actuator against the plateholder, a pedal, aconnection coupling the pedal and the actuator, and an eXtensibleconnection coupling the pedal and the shutters, the initial movement ofthe pedal lifting-the platen and the subsequent movement opening theshutters and operating conversely on the release of the pedal.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing Witnesses. l

' LOUIS J Q MITCHELL. Witnesses J. W. HARPER,

G. McCULLooH.

